Cockatoo is a town in Victoria, Australia, 48 km south-east of Melbourne's central business district, located within the Shire of Cardinia local government area. Cockatoo recorded a population of 4,408 at the 2021 census.
McBride Street
Sign along Pakenham Road
Bus stop on Bailey Road
Entrance to Wright Forest
The Ash Wednesday bushfires, known in South Australia as Ash Wednesday II, were a series of bushfires that occurred in south-eastern Australia in 1983 on 16 February, the Christian holy day Ash Wednesday. Within twelve hours, more than 180 fires fanned by hot winds of up to 110 km/h (68 mph) caused widespread destruction across the states of Victoria and South Australia. Years of severe drought and extreme weather combined to create one of Australia's worst fire days in a century. The fires were the deadliest bushfire in Australian history until the Black Saturday bushfires in 2009.
Aftermath of the 1983 Ash Wednesday bushfires at Mount Macedon